


The Price of Life

by LyriaFrost



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Ambiguous Relationship, Gen, romance or bromance, street!Michael, whatever you want - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 10:43:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1507586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyriaFrost/pseuds/LyriaFrost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After hearing the guys talk about how he's going to eat them out of house and home, Michael decides that some lifestyle modifications are in order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Price of Life

**Author's Note:**

> Another street!Michael story inspired by a post from yetiokay's tumblr. Go check it out for more on this awesome AU!

"Gavin! Jack! Dinnertime!" Michael stood at the bottom of the steps, yelling for his missing housemates. He could hear Geoff and Ray in the kitchen behind him, plating up food and setting the table. There were footsteps from upstairs, movement to signal that the others had heard him and were making their way to the food. Ryan came out of the bathroom next to him, wiping his hands on a towel. 

"They on their way? Great, let's go help Ray finish up." Just as they put the last fork on the table, Geoff appeared out of the kitchen, bearing a large platter piled high with carefully prepared steak. Michael just stared at the plate, not used to seeing so much food in one place. Geoff caught the look and grinned. 

"I totally forgot, this is the first time that Michael gets to try my awesome steaks." Jack came into the dining room, pulling Gavin behind him by one ear. 

"Oh well, he's in for a real treat then. I remember the first time I had those steaks..." The rest of the men all laughed as Ray spoke up. 

"I think we can all remember the first time we tried Geoff's steaks. They are certainly something special." Everyone sat down around the table, sharing stories about the first time they had tried Geoff's cooking (which was something very special), which of course led to the first and only time they had let Gavin try to cook (which was something very special in a very different way). 

Michael sat quietly in his seat between Gavin and Ryan as his plate was piled high with food. And every time he emptied his plate, someone put even more food on it. The Jersey man barely even noticed that everyone else had long since finished their own meals and were watching him as he finished off his third full plate of food. He looked up when he realized that there was no more food, and no more conversation going on around him. Ray snickered across the table from him. 

"Jesus, Michael, keep eating like that and you'll end up eating us out of house and home." The man in question paled for just a moment before lashing out like he was accustomed to. 

"Oi, you little fucker, don't you start-" Jack cut him off with a laugh of his own. 

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Ray, it's not like we can't afford it." Geoff interjected his own opinions. 

"Besides, no one can resist my steak." 

"Oh, not this conversation again." Soon enough, the talk was directed away from Michael, as everyone moved to start clearing the dishes from the table. The Jersey man stood as well, going through the motions of picking up his plate and loading the dishwasher, his normal after dinner chore. But in his mind, there was only one thought. 

'You'll end up eating us out of house and home. Oh god, I didn't even think- how could I do that? I forgot- I didn't think- it's just food, I can't really- oh, what have I done? Goddammit, stupid- motherfucker how could I not think of that...' 

"Hey Michael, you alright?" He snapped out of his reverie to see Gavin's face barely a foot from his own, peering up with a worried expression. 

"Oh, um, yeah. I'm fine, Gavin. Just tired, probably from eating all that food." Gavin laughed and backed up, grabbing the other man's hand and pulling him towards the steps. 

"That's true, you did eat a lot. But c'mon, it's late and I'm tired so it's bedtime now." Michael went through all the normal motions of the evening, changing his clothes, brushing his teeth, climbing into bed. But nothing he did could get rid of the thoughts. 

'All that food, just think of all the money... I can't believe I'd cost the guys that much money. I've only been here a week, don't even have a job, can't pay them back for any of it. I'll just have to stop then... can't be eating them out of house and home, as Ray said. No more... gotta just eat as little as possible, at least until I have a job and can pay them back.' Michael made a vow to himself, to cut back as much as he could so he wouldn't have to cost the others anything. 

And he actually managed to stick to his vow pretty well. For the next two weeks, the only meal that he allowed himself to eat was dinner. It was easy to skip breakfast and lunch, since he was alone for most of every day. The other five had to go to work, and they were still arranging a job for him with the rest of them. 

Sometimes he would go to work with them, just to hang out on them. But even on those days, he could lie and say he ate breakfast before the rest of them, since they rarely sat down together. And lunch was usually a hectic affair, people running out to get food whenever they had a few moments, so Michael would just claim to have gone with someone else when he was asked. 

At dinner time, he was very careful to disguise the fact that he was eating less food. Sometimes he would use excuses. 'Oh, I'm not hungry tonight.' 'I don't feel very well, so I'll just have a few crackers.' Other nights he would actually force himself to eat what was put on his plate, but he never took more or asked for seconds. 

When they were all in bed at night, he would figure the amount of food he had eaten that day, calculate how much it had cost. He kept a tiny notebook under the edge of the mattress (where no one ever looked) where he kept track of how much he owed the others for the food they had given him. Of course, he couldn't hide it forever. 

"Hey, Michael! Come give me a hand with moving these boxes." Michael blinked blearily up at Ryan from the couch where he had been sitting. Though, now that he thought about, he couldn't remember how he ended up sitting on the couch. 

"Sure thing, Ryan." He stood up, blinking rapidly when his vision suddenly blacked out, bright spots dancing in his vision as his ears started roaring. When it cleared, Ryan was still there, staring worriedly into his face. 

"You alright there, Michael? You don't look so good..." 

"I'm fine, just stood up too fast, that's all." 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure... now, where are those boxes?" Michael took two steps towards the door before his vision blacked out again, and this time he completely lost awareness of his surroundings. The roaring in his ears was so loud that it blocked out every sound from around him. The blackness simply would not fade back into light and color and there was a strange tingling in his limbs that was slowly moving up towards his heart. His chest was getting tighter and tighter and it seemed as if his mind had simply forgotten how to stretch those muscles and take a breath. 

When he finally came to himself again, he was laying on the sofa again. There was someone behind him, cradling his head in their lap and gently stroking his sweat-dampened hair away from his forehead. Someone was sitting on the sofa next to him, holding his hand, and he could hear a group of voices whispering heatedly somewhere to the side. And then hand in his was pulling away and Michael found himself whimpering and reaching out for it before he could stop himself. 

"Michael? Are you awake? Please, open your eyes." Ray... so that's who had been holding his hand. Michael very carefully opened his eyes, expecting to be assaulted by the bright living room lights, but instead finding his face carefully shaded by Gavin, who was sitting behind him and blocking the light. Geoff, Ryan, and Jack were standing behind Ray, watching him worriedly. 

"What- what happened?" 

"That's what we'd like to know, bud. You were going to help Ryan carry some stuff, but you barely made it three feet before the sofa before you suddenly collapsed to the ground. I've never heard Ryan yell quite that loud, we heard him all the way out in the yard." Ryan flushed lightly as Michael looked down at his hand in Ray's. 

"I'm sorry... I don't know what happened, I just fainted for some reas-" 

"Bullshit. There's no reason for a perfectly healthy person like you to just go around fainting when you weren't doing any kind of hard labor." 

"Not to mention all the other times this past week that you weren't feeling well or looked like you were going to pass out. We let you be because we wanted to give you your space. But something is going on, Michael, and you need to tell us what." 

"I- um- I don't-" Someone's hands were on his face, redirecting his view until he was looking up into Gavin's eyes, upside down as they were from this angle. 

"Michael... I know about the notebook... I don't know what's in it, but I think it has something to do with this... I've noticed you writing in it, late at night." Michael swallowed, closing his eyes and speaking in a near whisper. 

"Can- can someone go get it? The notebook... it's under the corner of the mattress. I- I promise I'll tell, just go get it." Jack looked to the other gents before moving down the hallway. The others could hear him moving things around in the bedroom before he returned, bearing a tiny blue-bound notebook. 

"Is this it?" 

"Yeah... that's the one..." Geoff took it from Jack, opening it and flipping through the pages as the other gents looked over his shoulder. Michael kept his gaze focused up on Gavin any time his eyes were opened, though his hand squeezed Ray's a bit tighter. 

"Michael... what is all this?" 

"It's- um... it's the cost of all the food I've been eating the past few weeks..." Ryan's eyes widened. 

"But... these numbers are so small! You can't have been eating this little... one of us would have noticed..." Michael didn't say anything, just kept his gaze focused on some point on Gavin's cheek. 

"I'm sorry... I thought- I forgot that it's not the same here." Suddenly Ray was the one grasping his hand tighter. 

"What do you mean it's not the same here... Michael, this hasn't happened before, has it?" 

"It's... it's never been so bad before..." 

"Michael!" 

"I'm sorry! I know... it's just... I was used to it from Jersey, but I never passed out like that before. It was always just- I dunno, a few seconds or so." 

"It was almost ten minutes this time, Michael." The man flinched. 

"Sorry..." 

"Why, though? Why would you not eat? Is there something wrong with the food we're having? Is there something else you want?" Michael sat up quickly, swaying lightly as his head went fuzzy again. Ray and Gavin bracketed him from either side, holding him up until the dizziness cleared. 

"Easy, Michael... don't move too quickly." 

"There's nothing wrong with the food, I promise! It's all good, and I could eat so much of it." 

"Then why aren't you?" Michael mumbled something under his breath too quietly for the gents to hear, but Ray blanched violently. 

"Gavin, what did he say?" 

"He said... I don't want to be responsible for eating you out of house and home." The gents were shocked into silence momentarily, but Ray lunged forward, grabbing Michael's face and forcing their eyes to meet. 

"That was a joke, Michael! I didn't mean it seriously, I just- I thought it was funny, I didn't think you would take it seriously. Oh god, I'm so sorry, Michael... please, I wasn't being serious..." Ray collapsed forward, hugging the other man tightly. Michael could feel him shaking violently in his arms and quickly wrapped his arms around him in turn. 

"I didn't- it's not your fault, Ray, I promise, I just... it made me realize that I still didn't have a job or any money or any way to pay you back... so I was just eating less and keeping track of all of it so I could pay you all back once I do have money of my own..." 

"It doesn't work like that, Michael." Jack crouched down in front of him, putting one hand on his knee and one on Ray's back. "We want you to be safe and happy and taken care of here. And that involves making sure that you have food and shelter and all the other basic comforts. If we didn't want to spend money on you, we wouldn't have brought you here from Jersey in the first place." 

"Besides, bud... we have no problems with finances. We're five grown men, with well-paying jobs, all sharing one house. We have money to spare and we want to spend it on you. I promise, if we ever have money troubles, we won't hide them from you. If we think you're spending too much money, we'd tell you, but I don't think it's possible for you to spend more than we're willing to give you. So please, put those thoughts out of your head." Gavin spoke up after Geoff, staring down at his hands clasped together in front of him. 

"Don't do that anymore... don't scare us like that. Hearing Ryan yell, coming in here and seeing you so deathly pale... do you know that you didn't even breathe for a full minute? It was bloody awful, Michael... please, don't do that anymore." Michael threw an arm out, draping it over Gavin's shoulders and pulling him close. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I won't do that anymore, I promise... I'll try to eat, and I'll try not to worry and hurt myself anymore. I can't stand seeing all of you so upset." 

"Good, then you'll come sit at the table, right now, and eat a nice big meal. You can even pick what we have for dinner tonight, so c'mon. We're going to start cooking right now, and you aren't leaving until we're all happy with how much you've eaten." Michael stood up slowly, Gavin and Ray supporting him from either side, just in case he passed out again. 

"I promise... whatever makes you happy."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/criticism/anything you'd like to say is much appreciated!


End file.
